Perhaps no one would be happier about that than President Donald Trump. Here’s why:

As Yale economist Robert Tiffin explained in the 1950s, if a country’s currency is the international reserve currency, then it has no choice but to run a current account deficit. If a replacement is found, as the dollar replaced the British pound in the 1920s, it may be more likely to have trade surpluses – which is what Trump has said he wants.

The reason is simple: trading nations all over the world have to accumulate dollars to use in trading with each other. When China buys oil from Iran, for example, it pays in U.S. dollars. So, more U.S. dollars flow out of the US than flow in, and bingo, you have a big current account deficit.

On the other hand, having the dollar as the international reserve currency creates what’s called “monetary seignorage,” which is what the U.S. government earns by having all those dollars floating around overseas. It costs almost nothing to print money, but China, Russia and everyone else pay a full dollar in goods and services for that greenback.

What’s changed? The weaponization of the dollar by Washington. When Trump re-imposed sanctions on Iran last week, he warned that any company doing deals with the Iranians in dollars would also be subject to sanctions. Several Russian companies are also under U.S. sanctions.

While it is a somewhat different issue, Turkey is also angry that a tweet by Trump last week doubling tariffs on imports of Turkish steel has caused Turkey’s currency, the lira, to crash more than 20 percent against the US dollar. That has caused a stampede by investors out of emerging market currencies everywhere.

Lavrov is visiting Turkey and told a press conference that “unilateral enforcement measures are illegitimate in international affairs,” a reference to the American sanctions. “One way to counter these illegitimate barriers and restrictions is we can use national currencies on our bilateral trade,” he added.

Lavrov said Russia already uses local currencies in trade with China and Iran and that a number of other countries are also thinking about doing the same. China has been active in setting up trade deals in its own currency, the renminbi.

“I strongly believe that abuse of the role the U.S. dollar plays as an international currency will eventually result in its role being undermined,” Lavrov said

A teller holds Turkish lira banknotes at a currency exchange office in Istanbul on August 13, 2018. - Turkey's troubled lira tumbled on August 13 to fresh record lows against the euro and dollar, piling pressure on stock markets on fears the country's crisis could spill over into the world economy. (Photo by Yasin AKGUL / AFP) (Photo credit should read YASIN AKGUL/AFP/Getty Images)

. “A growing number of countries — even those not affected by US sanctions — will more and more stay away from the dollar and will rely on more reliable partners using their (own) currency.”

While Lavrov may be right, the use of national currencies goes only so far. Will traders in China, for example, be content taking Turkish lira in payment for goods shipped when they know that the currency will be worth much less by the time the ship reaches its destination?

It’s a little bit like the way the English language has become the lingua franca of international business. Although they may not like it, you often hear Chinese businessmen speaking with their German and French counterparts in English. It’s the same for the dollar: it’s safe, dependable and easy to exchange.

So, while President Trump might be happier with lower trade deficits because the dollar is no longer the international reserve currency, it’s probably not going to happen soon.

I have been a financial journalist for many years, specializing in global economic questions for a variety of publications. I have lived in Asia, Africa and Europe. Foreign trade and its consequences on jobs is a particular interest. I am the winner of the Business Journali...